Torch.



J. UNSER.

TORCH.

APPLICATION HLBD JULY 8.1912.

@vdi/bumsen 0? WW JOHN UNSER, OF GARTHAG-E, NEIN YORK.

TORCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 191 3.

Application filed. July 8, 1912. Serial No. 708,253.

To all whom t may cof/wem Be it known that I, JOHN UNSER, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at Carthage, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Torches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to illuminating burners, and more especially to those burning liquid fuel and having a wick with a wick raiser; and the object of the same is to produce an improved torch for use by engineers, firemen, and the like, and which must at times be stored in the pocket or valise, wherefore it becomes necessary to close the wick tube with a cap which will not leak. These and other objects are accomplished by constructing the torch in the manner hereinafter more i'ully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of this improved torch with its wick out and its cap applied, the whole being ready for storage within the users valise; Fig. 2 is a side elevation with the cap removed, the wick tube in section, and the wick withdrawn ready to be ignited; Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical section with all parts in place; Fig. f1 is a cross section on the line 14 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view ot' the wick tube with its parts separated, one half being in side elevation and the other in central section; Fig. 6 is a perspective detail of the wick raiser removed.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the oil tont or body which is by preference cylindrical and of as small diameter as possible, closed at its bottom as at 2, and having an open top 3 surrounded by an internally threaded collar l--the collar being by preference turned from a brass or other casting, and the body (which may be of sheet metal or tubing) secured to it and closed at its bottom in any suitable way. The wick tube 5 is by preference also of brass tubing, made cylindrical throughout except where it is spun into grooves 6 and 7 near its upper and lower ends respectively, the grooves being internal and forming corresponding external ribs for a purpose yet to be described.

Attention is directed to the fact that the grooves are angular, the upper wall of the uppermost groove (3 being 'ather abrupt or at about forty-live degrees angle, and the lower wall rather more sloping or at about thirty-two degrees angle; and the walls of the lower groove 7 being reversed about the same, but so that the more abrupt wall is at the bottom. Both these grooves are so remote from the ends oi the tube 5 that the latter has cylindrical portions at its extremitiesl which are about a half an inch in length; and on the lower-most is shrunk or otherwise secured a collar S having a wide radial [lange 9 which is milled around its periphery, beneath which the size and threads ot' the collar 8 are such that it may engage the internal threads within the collar il, by which means the wick tube is connected with the body although it can be disconnected when the font ot body is to be filled with oil or cleaned.

The wick (designated by the reference numeral 10) usually employed with torches et this character is tibrous like cotton waste, and rather bulky; and for the purpose of raising and lowering it within the wick tube, I provide the wick raiser best seen in Fig. 6. This comprises an upright rod 11 having a knob 12 at its upper end and an angle or deflection 13 in its body, its lower end passing through two pairs oi ears 14 formed at the inner ends oit se1ni-cylindrical jaws 15, each ot' which has inwardly projecting teeth 1G around its upper edge and an outwardly projecting nib or stud 17 at about the center as shown; and on the lower end of the rod, between the pairs oit ears, is coiled a spring 1S whose extremities 19 bear against the inner faces ot said aws and throw the latter normally outward. This device applied to the wick betere it is inserted in the torch at all, after which the lower end of the wick is passed down through the tube, the aws of the wick raiser pressed together and pushed into the upper end or mouth of said tube, and continued downward pressure on the knob at the upper end of the rod or stem will cause the wick and wick raiser to move downward until the studs or projections engage the uppermost groove G, at which time the upper end of the wick will project some distance above the mouth of the wick tube. In this condition the wick is intended to be trimmed and lighted, and it will burn; but when this torch is to be extinguished and perhaps stored in the users valise, the light is blown out and the wick raiser pushed downward within the wick tube until the studs pass out of the uppermost groove, slide downward in the tube, and spring outward into the lowermost groove 7 At this time the upper end of the wick is supposed to be about flush with the upper end of the wick tube as seen in Fig. 3, and the expansive force of the spring within the wick raiser, throwing its jaws normally outward and their studs into the lower groove, avoids the possibility that the wick and wick raiser will fall through the tube into the font-especially as the lower wall of the lowermost groove 7 is rather abrupt and engages said studs with considerable friction.

Another feature of my invention lies in the specific construction of the cap for closing the upper end of the tubel when the torch is not in use. Shrunk around the upper end of the tube is a collar 20 which rests upon the rib formed by spinning the uppermost groove 6, said collar having a rather wide fiange- 21 carrying an annular upwardly projecting knife-edge 22, above which the collar is externally threaded as at 28. The numeral 24 designates the body of the cap whose lower edge is flanged as at 25 and externally milled as shown, j and within said liange is cut an annular groove wherein is disposed a gasket 26 which is of good material to resist heat. The collar 2O and the cap 24 are by preference of brass castings, and t-he method of securing the collar around the tube is not important. Nor will it be necessary in this speciiication to state the. sizes, shapes, and proportions of parts, nor their materials excepting that I would prefer brass as suggested, or steel suitably treated t0 present a neat appearance.

In the use of this improved torch, the font is filled with oil and the wick tube applied by screwing the collar S into the internal threads within the collar 4-a gasket 28 being by preference interposed between these members so as to positively prevent leakage. When the device is not in use the cap 24 incloses the collar at the upper end of the wick tube, and as its gasket is screwed tightly down Onto the knife-edge it will be impossible for any oil to escape at that point,

vand the device can be safely stored away or carried in the users valise. To use the torch, the cap is unscrewed, the wick raiser grasped by its knob and drawn upward so that the studs slide out of the lower groove 7 and rise within the tube 5 until they spring into the upper groove 6, and then the wick is lighted. After using the device, the light is blown out, the wick raiser and wick pushed downward until the studs engage the fore serves the two-fold purpose of sealing the upper end of the wick tube against the accidental leakage of oil, and of inclosing the' hot end of the recently extinguished wick by a gasket which will prevent the heat from being communicated to adjacent woodwork or iniiammable oil. And if the operator cares to use his torch again, soon after he lhas once extinguished it, he will find the milled edge of the cap none too warm for his thumb and finger, even if he has left a spark of fire within t-he upper end of the wick.

l/Vhat is claimed as new is 1. The herein described wick raiser comprising a rod having a knob at its upper end and a deflection in its body; a pair of semicircular jaws whereof each has a pair of perforated lugs mounted on the lower end of said rod, a series of inwardly projecting teeth, and an outwardly projecting stud; and a spring coiled on the lower end of the rod between the pairs of lugs and having its extremities throwing isaid jaws normally outward.

2. The combination with a wick tube having a pair of internal grooves; of a wick raiser consisting of a rod, a pair of jaws mounted thereon and having studs adapted to enter said grooves, and means for throwling the jaws normally outward.

3. The combination with a wick tube vhaving a pair of internal grooves whereof the lower wall of the lowermost groove is 'abrupt and its upper wall less so, and an Voil font secured to the lower end of said "t-ube; of a wick raiser consisting of a. rod, a pair of jaws mounted thereon and having ystuds adapted to enter said grooves, and tmeans for throwing the jaws normally outward.

4. The herein described torch comprising a font, a wick tube provided with an outwardly projecting shoulder; an externally threaded collar surrounding the upper end .of the tube and resting upon the shoulder, an internally threaded cap adapted to be Vscrewed onto this collar and having a groove .in its lower face, and a gasket of poor heatconducting qualities contained within said grooves.

5. In a torch the combination with the wick tube, a threaded -collar secured around yits upper end and'having a radial flange with an annular knife-edge rising therefrom; of a cap having threads to correspond In testimony whereof I have hereunto set Wlth those on the collar and an annular my hand 1n presence of two subscrlblng groove 1n lts lower edge, and a gasket of wltnesses.

poor heat-conducting qualities contained J OHN UNSER. 5 Within said groove and adapted to engage Witnesses:

said knife-edge When the cap is screwed in JOHN W. GmAnD,

place. J. M. UNSER.

Copies of this patent may ne obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

